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posted 11/02/2011 We’ve had a busy offseason so far! Before registration for the 2012 season opens, we wanted to share some news about some changes to our league affiliation and levels of play for the upcoming season.
League Affiliation
In 2011, Byfield Newbury Little League (BNLL) entered the InterTown Baseball League at the Major League level of play. The InterTown League is comprised of teams from Byfield-Newbury, Salisbury, Georgetown, Rowley, and Seabrook (with more joining for the 2012 season). The experience for players, coaches, and parents was both successful and rewarding.
Based upon the Major League’s experiences in the InterTown Baseball League, BNLL’s Triple A (formerly Minor A) teams will also be participating in the InterTown League in the 2012 season and beyond. Triple A teams will now be playing games in neighboring towns throughout the season.
Levels of Play
In 2012, BNLL is adding a new level of play designed to help players transition from coach-pitched and player-pitched baseball. As a result, we’ve renamed our levels of play:
MAJOR LEAGUE (ages 10-12) – The Major League represents the most competitive level of play in BNLL. All 11 year old players must advance to the MAJOR LEAGUE level, with some younger players advancing based upon a combination of coaches’ recommendations and performance at pre-season player evaluations. Players who are league age 10 AND in the 5
th grade are encouraged to advance to this level of play.
Teams play on fields that have 70’ basepaths and a distance of 50’ from the pitcher’s mound to home plate.
TRIPLE A (ages 8-10) – TRIPLE A is geared toward introducing players to higher levels of competition and skill development while preparing them for play at the MAJOR LEAGUE level. At this level of play, all pitching is done by players. In the 2012 season, TRIPLE A will be joining the InterTown Baseball League and playing some portion of their games in neighboring towns. All 9 year old players must advance to TRIPLE A, with some younger players advancing based upon a combination of coaches’ recommendations and performance at pre-season player evaluations.
Teams play on fields that have 60’ foot basepaths and a distance of 46’ from the pitcher’s mound to home plate.
DOUBLE A (ages 7-8) – DOUBLE A is a new level of play designed to help players make the transition from coach-pitched to player-pitched and follows rules that are a combination of those used in SINGLE A and TRIPLE A. All 8 year old players will play at this level unless their performance at spring tryouts demonstrates they are prepared to advance to TRIPLE A. In addition, some 7 year old players will be selected to participate in DOUBLE A based upon a combination coaches’ recommendations and performance at the pre-season player evaluations.
Teams will play on fields that have the 60’ basepaths of TRIPLE A, but players will pitch from a distance of 40’ (rather than the 46’ at TRIPLE A). BNLL anticipates 2 teams at the DOUBLE A level that will be playing against each other and teams from West Newbury.
SINGLE A (ages 6-7) – SINGLE A is a coach-pitched level of play that builds upon the basic skills developed through previous play. Players hit balls thrown by a coach, with the objective of every player putting the ball into play whenever possible to help players develop in-game skills in addition to the fundamental skills developed during practices.
Teams at SINGLE A play on fields with the same dimensions as DOUBLE A fields.
TEEBALL (ages 4-6) – TEEBALL is the introductory level of play in BNLL. Coaches work with players to develop basic throwing, catching, and hitting skills. All TEEBALL games are played on smaller fields laid out by coaches at the Newbury Upper Green.
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